Children enjoy toys that can be pushed or pulled. The attention span of young children, however, is short, and a simple push-pull toy will not sustain a child's interest. Consequently, ancillary features have been incorporated into push-pull toys. For example, motion mechanisms have been connected to push/pull toys and utilized to move a portion of the toy in response to actuation of the motion mechanism. Furthermore, motion mechanisms have been connected to the wheels of push/pull toys such that movement of the push/pull toy across a support surface actuates the motion mechanism to move a portion of the toy. The use of such motion mechanisms, however, generally entails fixing the moving portion of the toy to the main body of the toy, or enclosing unattached accessories within a transparent dome or container (such as in the classic popcorn popper push toys). Such conventional toys may prevent the child from fulfilling her natural explorative instincts in separating one portion of the toy from another portion of the toy and recombining the same.
Thus, it would be desirable to provide push/pull toy that imparts motion to removable, interactive accessories. In particular, it would be desirable to provide a push/pull toy that imparts a controlled motion to an accessory that is not attached to the push/pull toy. Such accessory motion would enhance the entertainment value of the toy, since both the toy and the accessory would provide unique sources of entertainment, which would then be magnified when used together.
Thus, there exists a need for providing an entertainment device that imparts a controlled motion to an unattached accessory. Furthermore, there exists a need for a push/pull device that imparts a controlled motion to an unattached accessory when the device is pushed or pulled along a surface. Providing a highly-controlled motion to the unattached accessory not only increases a child's enjoyment, but also lessens the likelihood of the unattached accessory becoming lost due to its falling off of the device.
This invention is directed generally to a toy wherein movement of the toy across a support surface imparts a controlled motion to an unattached member carried by the toy. More specifically, this invention is directed to a toy vehicle wherein movement of the toy vehicle across a support surface imparts a controlled motion to an unattached toy block carried by the toy vehicle.